Although thought to be associated with alleviating several illnesses such as whooping cough, boils and rheumatism, this fruit has over time become associated with the Devil in France and England. In France it was thought that the colour of the fruit resulted from when the Devil spat on it, whilst in England it was thought that picking fruit after 11 October (Olde Michaelmas Day) would bring bad luck as the Devil was believed to have fallen into a thicket and had left a curse on the thorns which had hurt him.